Thursday, June 19, 2014

At Mirpur the 3rd One
dayer was washed out …. But before it rained, the sails of Indian boat rocked
as they were humbled for the 2nd time … a batting line-up of Robin
Uthappa, Ajinkya Rahane, Ambati Rayudu, Manoj Tiwary, Cheteshwar Pujara, Suresh Raina, Wridhimann Saha, Stuart Binny
stuttered at 119/9 when it rained – and that followed the earlier 105 (though
successfully defended, thanks to Binny’s heroics). The Mirpur track continued
to play havoc in the mind of the batsmen, but it was rain that had the final
say in the series. India had travelled
with a group of in-form, if not quite experienced, batsmen but they failed for
a second time in two games. Their 119 for 9 had come in 34.2 overs after the
spells of rain shortened the game to 40 overs a side, with the Bangladesh pace
attack dictating terms once again.

More importantly, miles away
happenings in Iraq known by the Greek toponym 'Mesopotamia' (land between the
rivers), home to continuous successive civilizations since the 6th millennium
BC casts darks clouds Hundreds of people have been killed since the start of
the militant offensive, many of them believed to be captured soldiers publicly
shot by ISIS-led firing squads. Some 500,000 people have been internally
displaced, according to UN estimates.
The UN said hundreds have been killed as the Sunni-led Islamists
advanced into Diyala province in the east - near Iran and close to the capital
- having seized Mosul and Tikrit to the north.

Forty Indian construction workers
have been abducted in the Iraqi city of Mosul, which has been overrun by
jihadist militants. However, no ransom demand has been received and their
whereabouts are not known, officials said on Wednesday. The Indians, mostly from Punjab and northern
parts of the country, were working in Mosul for the Baghdadbased Tariq Noor Al
Huda Construction Company. The Indian Embassy in Baghdad had been in touch with
them earlier and advised them to remain indoors. Sources said they were
abducted during an apparent attempt to flee Mosul, which was taken over by
militants of Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS) on June 10.

According to Daily Mail, a serious trouble, storm for the Indian
economy is brewing in West Asia. The
surge in international crude oil prices triggered by the new war in Iraq is set
to blow a hole in the new government's budget plans, and slow down any attempt
to revive the economy. On Wednesday, the news filtering out from Iraq put the
dreaded scenario firmly on the horizon of the Narendra Modi-led National
Democratic Alliance government, which is preparing to present its first Budget
early next month. Going by the report, India
is the world's fourth largest consumer of oil, importing as much as 80 per cent
of its crude requirements. The price of the Indian basket of crude oil imports
jumped by close to $4 a barrel to touch $ 110.42 per barrel over the last week.
The rupee has also weakened vis-à-vis
the dollar. This will add to the cost of imports, and every dollar increase in
crude oil prices means India has to shell out an extra $1 billion to subsidise
the losses of public sector oil marketing companies.

The finance minister of the last
government, P. Chidambaram, provided a mere Rs 63,427 crore as the subsidy for
petroleum products in his interim Budget for the financial year 2014-15. That
this was way too optimistic can be gauged by the fact that total subsidy the
government provided in 2012-13 on kerosene, diesel and LPG was Rs 96,880 crore.
Similarly, Chidambaram provided only Rs
67,970 crore in the interim budget for meeting the fertilizer subsidy bill of
the government, which is also likely to go up. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will now have to
face these unrealistic numbers as he wrestles with the task of keeping the
nation on the path of fiscal consolidation while presenting his maiden budget.

As the turbulence in Iraq threatens
to disrupt global oil markets, India has sounded suppliers in West Asia and
elsewhere for buying additional crude in case supplies from Iraq are disrupted,
a petroleum ministry official said. "The problem is not about arranging
the quantity of crude but the price at which we will get it,'' he explained. It's
not just a growing subsidy problem. Rising crude oil prices are also expected
to increase the current account deficit, weaken the rupee and push up the rate
of inflation which is already turning out to be a challenge for the new
government. India's consumer price inflation hovered at 8.28 per cent in May
and remains a concern. Wholesale price inflation accelerated to a five-month
high of 6.01 per cent. The fear of rising inflation will also prevent the RBI
from easing the tight money policy that tends to choke growth.